Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0Christopher’s library logs 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Christopher Public Library serves Christopher’s 2,697 residents. Last year it lent 1,075 print books and media and logged 1,830 visits.
What Christopher’s library is like
Christopher Public Library is used less than most libraries its size
Christopher Public Library records 0.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people. Borrowing is 0.4 print items per resident, against a typical 3.8. It also spends less than most: $9 per resident, against a typical $43. How it compares ↓
Federal money pays a real share
19% of the budget comes from federal grants, and 66% from local taxes. Nationally, most library money is local. What your card is worth ↓
Few residents carry a card
Only 15% of the people Christopher Public Library serves have a library card, against a typical 42% for its size. How it compares ↓
Runs on less money than most
Christopher Public Library spends $9 per resident, less than 97% of similar-size libraries (typical: $43). What your card is worth ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Christopher’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Christopher is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns, #505 of 754 in Illinois. Christopher’s count of community nonprofits holds the grade up; library visits pull it down.
Most U.S. towns with similar household incomes ($36K–$60K) score higher, so income alone doesn’t account for it.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
13 community nonprofits are registered in Christopher
5.2 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
6.8%
6.8% of Christopher’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.1% in the typical Illinois town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Christopher’s residents live; 2022.
Below most similar-size libraries on all 6 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Christopher Public Library serves 2,697 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
A year at Christopher Public Library
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Books and media off the shelf
1,075 print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
The survey has no count of children’s loans for Christopher’s library in 2024, so there’s no split between adults’ and kids’ borrowing.
Each of the 13K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.1 time last year, on average.
Find it
Christopher Public Library, 202 East Market Street, Christopher.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
What a library card is worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Christopher cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $23K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $19K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $23K budget.
Late fines apply to some overdue items.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 415 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Who has a library of their own, and how much each town borrows. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher | Christopher Public Library | 0.4 | 29 | C |
| North City | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Illinois libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Christopher
Does Christopher have a public library?
Yes. Christopher Public Library, 202 East Market Street, serves Christopher’s 2,697 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 29 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Christopher Public Library fine-free?
It charges late fines on some overdue items (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Christopher’s library?
It logged 0.7 visits and lent 0.4 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Christopher’s civic life grade?
C Christopher is ahead of 30% of U.S. towns on civic life, #505 of 754 in Illinois. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Christopher.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.